In addition to homes, there would be a town center, civic sites such as a library or fire station, shopping areas and preservation land, Dover said.

Maria Wise, president of The Acreage Horse Owners Association, is pushing for an equestrian trail throughout the grove.

"When you have more intense development in equestrian neighborhoods, it tends to isolate," she said. "If you're isolated, you don't ride as much. Then people move out."

Condominiums and strip malls aren't welcomed in the area, Wise said. Residents would fight any attempt to develop that way, she said.

"This is a better approach," she said of the community meeting, held under a white tent at Callery-Judge.

A week of community meetings is to culminate Thursday night, when designers are scheduled to present plans and illustrations based on resident input.

The final development plan should be ready a couple of months later, Dover said. But it will take 5-15 years for it to come to fruition.

Tony Czmyr, who lives less than 2 miles from the grove, said he would like the development to have variety of businesses, such as restaurants, gas stations and grocery stores. Homes should be on no less than one-third of an acre, he said.

A mix of housing -- townhouses, apartments and single-family homes -- is important to Norman Vogeney, who lives over the hill from the grove, which is on Seminole Pratt Whitney Road north of Okeechobee Boulevard.

Vogeney said his son can't afford to buy a home in The Acreage because property values have been climbing.

"Clearly, people care about their community and what's here," Roberts said.

Patty Pensa can be reached at ppensa@sun-sentinel.com or 561-243-6609.